Introduction

Some of us arrived today with a heart that feels heavy. The week brought news we didn’t want. A chair at the table is empty. The silence in the car is louder than the radio. We know the sting of loss, the ache of waiting, the long walk from “why” to “what now.” John 11 is God’s kindness to souls like ours. It’s a chapter for hospitals and gravesides, for bills on the counter and worries in the night. It is a story that says, in plain words and through wet tears, Jesus steps into our sorrow with authority and affection.

Mary and Martha wrote the same message many of us would write: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” That sentence still fits in a text message, still fits in a prayer, still fits in a sob. And the Lord who loved their brother loves you. He knows how many hairs are on your head and how many hours you have cried. He holds time without hurry and hearts without harshness. He weeps. He walks. He speaks. And when he speaks, life listens.

This is a passage soaked in tenderness. Jesus is not a distant deity. He stands at a tomb with wet cheeks and a steady voice. He meets sadness with strength, funerals with final words, stones with sovereign command. When Jesus is present, death loses its swagger. When Jesus calls your name, grave clothes become old news. And when Jesus declares who he is, hope rises like the sun.

Tim Keller said, “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.” (Timothy Keller, The Reason for God) The tomb of Lazarus points to the empty tomb of Jesus, and the empty tomb of Jesus points to your future. This is why we sing. This is why we pray. This is why we can stand in cemeteries with courage and in living rooms with comfort.

So bring your questions. Bring the name on your heart. Bring the fear you didn’t say out loud. Today, we will watch as death meets its match in the presence of Jesus. We will be invited to trust the One who is the resurrection and the life. And we will listen for the voice that calls us by name and sets us free.

Opening Prayer: Father, we come with full hands and empty hands. Some of us hold grief; all of us need grace. Open our eyes to see Jesus as he is. Let your Word steady our steps and soften our hearts. Speak life into places that feel finished. Call our names again. Lift our eyes from the stone to the Savior. Give faith to trust, tears that heal, and hope that holds. In the name of Jesus, our resurrection and our life. Amen.

Scripture Reading: John 11 (KJV) 1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. 7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? 9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. 11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. 16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. 17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. 18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: 19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. 21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. 28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. 30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. 31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. 32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! 37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? 38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. 39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. 45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. 46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. 47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. 49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; 52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. 53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. 54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples. 55 And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast? 57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.

Death meets its match in the presence of Jesus

The scene opens with a delay that feels confusing. News reaches Jesus that his friend is sick. He waits two days. He tells the disciples this will show the glory of God and help them believe. Then he heads toward Judea, a place that held real danger for him. Thomas even thinks the trip could cost their lives. This is not a detour. It is part of his plan. When he arrives, Lazarus has been in the tomb four days. That detail mattered in that time. It signaled the finality of death. No pulse. No breath. No doubt. Into that weight, Jesus walks with purpose. He speaks with steady calm. He leads anxious followers toward a grave. He enters a town in full grief. Every step says the same thing. He is not pushed back by the grave. He moves toward it. He is not pressed into silence. He speaks into it. The delay, the danger, the four days, all of it sets the stage for clear work only he can do.

Martha meets him first. She speaks with honest words that carry pain. Jesus answers with a claim that is personal and present. “I am the resurrection, and the life.” He does not point only to a date on a calendar. He brings life with him. He holds the future, and he brings that future into the now. He adds a promise. The one who believes in him will live even after death. The one who lives and believes in him will never die. Then he asks Martha a simple question. “Do you believe this?” She confesses that he is the Christ, the Son of God. This is more than comfort talk. This is a claim that puts a name and a face on life itself. It calls for trust. It invites the heart to rest in a person. Hope takes shape around him. Faith turns from vague ideas to a living Lord who stands on the road outside a village with tears in the air and dust on his feet.

Mary comes to Jesus and falls at his feet. Many are weeping with her. Jesus sees the tears and is deeply moved. He asks where the body was laid. Then he weeps. The crowd notices his love. Some raise a hard question about why the healer did not stop this. He goes to the tomb. It is a cave with a stone laid against it. He tells them to take the stone away. Martha worries about the smell after four days. He reminds her of his promise. Then he lifts his eyes and prays. He thanks the Father for hearing him. He speaks out loud so the people will know he was sent. Here we see a heart that feels and a will that acts. We see the Son speaking with the Father. We see faith asked for and faith given. We see human hands roll a stone while heaven readies a sign.

Then comes the command. A loud voice breaks the hush. “Lazarus, come forth.” The dead man walks out. He is still bound hand and foot with strips of cloth. His face is wrapped. Jesus tells the people, “Loose him, and let him go.” The same voice that called creation into being calls a man from a tomb. The same hands that will soon be pierced set a friend free. The crowd has a part. They move the stone. They unwrap the knots. A community becomes the place where freedom gets finished. This is how his power and our obedience fit together. He speaks. We respond. He gives life. We remove what keeps a new life from moving. Many who saw it believed. Some ran to report it. Leaders gather and plot. A priest speaks words that carry more truth than he knew, that Jesus would die for the nation and gather the scattered children of God. The sign at Bethany points forward. The path from a friend’s tomb heads straight to his own. And the one who called a man out will soon walk out himself, with no grave clothes to bind and no stone left to hold him.

Trust the One who is the resurrection and the life

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